What is striking about the Goals 2000 initiative is its virtual omission of the student, except as passive receptacle. To claim that students will learn more with heightened expectations is misleading. For content to take root, it must connect with students' internal "prepared structures" and become a "comfortable friend." In…

Introduces a theme issue focusing on teaching critical thinking through college psychology courses. Defines critical thinking and asserts that "learning to think" has been called the central purpose of education. Refers to the Goals 2000 program and its emphasis on thinking skills. (CFR)

Comments on remarks by A. Graham Down, president of the Council for Basic Education, about integrating arts education into the curriculum. Concludes that, when the arts are channeled into the mainstream and made part and parcel of everything, arts education becomes dangerously confused. (CFR)

Asserts that it is important to avoid bandwagon superficialities related to the interdisciplinary approach to arts education in the K-12 curriculum. Concludes that the overarching issue related to the National Standards implementation is how to keep content and process in a productive relationship. (CFR)

Maintains that the effort to develop and implement national standards in the arts is politically correct but not free of psychological or pedagogical viewpoints. Asserts that educators must formulate the right questions and assess objectively the potential outcomes of an arts education program in reformed schools. (CFR)

Asserts that, from a school administration point of view, empowerment through faculty cooperation and participation in work-related issues is quite different from actual control of the workplace. Discusses issues related to power, control, and authority in education, particularly in arts education. (CFR)